EPA, backed by industry groups and Texas, is fighting environmentalists' lawsuit that claims the agency has raised the bar for challenging Clean Air Act Title V permits by finding that objections to the permits cannot target other permits, defending its policy in an appellate court case similar to at least two other pending lawsuits.

Environmentalists are pushing back against EPA's efforts to stay all regulatory challenges and other litigation where the agency is a party until the government shutdown ends, arguing officials including Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys have authority to keep working on any case where a judge orders proceedings to continue.

The judge found that EPA's policy reiterating requirements to comply with the Federal Records Act mooted the suit, which alleged that former administrator Pruitt had failed to adequately document decisions.

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says the agency's pending fiscal year 2018 enforcement results include 800 million pounds of pollution and waste reduced, which he says is a major increase over FY17, despite environmentalists' fears that the agency's overall enforcement efforts have plummeted since the Obama administration.

Environmentalists say EPA's impending policy “action” on whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to pollution traveling through groundwater to surface waters is justification for the Supreme Court to reject two pending cases on the question, saying the action could create a new “regulatory landscape” midway through complex litigation.